Re: I just got a text from AT&T what is this?

AT&T has a less incentive to improve capacity, and they now have a nice strategy to push customers who are grandfathered into the unlimited plan to move to a tiered plan. That's really what's at work here.

This should not be a shock to you. You've now got two other carriers to choose from, if you don't want AT&T service but do want to stay with an iPhone.

FYI Comcast has the same type of excessive use policy, except they terminate people who violate it twice. It is a hard cap, but it's a soft enforcement - you need to exceed the cap AND be among the top 2% of data users

Re: I just got a text from AT&T what is this?

I can put 2GB of data on my thumb drive in a minute. From another perspective, on my 50Gbit cable line, it takes me 4 minutes to download 1.5GB of data.

Your average AT&T iPhone users don't know the potential of this device. And I think that it is good that they don't know how to utilize their phone to keep the bandwidth free for us so called "heavy users."

And even if I were to use over 2GB of data, I'm paying $30 for my unlimted compared to someone who pays $25 for 2GB of data.

And lastly, AT&T won't throttle your speed if you are a tiered customer so that when they max out, they can charge extra and make more money for themselves. This is discrimination and corporate greed.

What AT&T should be doing is to increase their capacity and stop penalizing people for using up service that the way we customers see fit.

Re: I just got a text from AT&T what is this?

They have used 1.5GB in ONE week which is on track for their usage of 6GB last month. That is why they are being throttled.

@Wild Banchi wrote:I agree that being throttled at 1.5GB is rather ludicrous when even customers using tiered 2GB plans are free to use up to 2GB, probably without being throttled.

Alright. 1.5GB in a week is understandable for throttling, then. Really, the throttling should not start until the user reaches over 2GB, but it certainly will not take them long...

The problem I have with all of this is that theoretically, you could be throttled for using even as little as 100 MB in a week, if AT&T determines that to be the threshhold for the top 5%...and the insinuation from some folks that the throttling should apply no matter what the actual data usage amount turns out to be for the top 5%. These folks would even think it fair and reasonable that someone in the top 5% should be rightfully throttled even if the top 5% calculates out to be say, 1 GB...

Re: I just got a text from AT&T what is this?

They have used 1.5GB in ONE week which is on track for their usage of 6GB last month. That is why they are being throttled.

@Wild Banchi wrote:I agree that being throttled at 1.5GB is rather ludicrous when even customers using tiered 2GB plans are free to use up to 2GB, probably without being throttled.

Alright. 1.5GB in a week is understandable for throttling, then. Really, the throttling should not start until the user reaches over 2GB, but it certainly will not take them long...

The problem I have with all of this is that theoretically, you could be throttled for using even as little as 100 MB in a week, if AT&T determines that to be the threshhold for the top 5%...and the insinuation from some folks that the throttling should apply no matter what the actual data usage amount turns out to be for the top 5%. These folks would even think it fair and reasonable that someone in the top 5% should be rightfully throttled even if the top 5% calculates out to be say, 1 GB...

Which assumes that AT&T would continue with the policy if the top 5% of users were only using 100MB of data. Somehow I doubt that would be the case. That is the problem with taking real world cases and presuming absurd extremes.

If you think that there are people in this forum that would consider throttling someone who was using 1GB of data in a month reasonable, please name them and provide links to posts that back up your assumption. Because I don't recall anyone ever saying that, but I'll certainly admit I might have missed it.

On the other hand, since you didn't put a time frame on your 1GB data consumption, I'd certainly agree that it could be reasonable to throttle someone who used 1GB of data in, say, 1 day. Particularly if that level of usage was a common occurance for them.

Re: I just got a text from AT&T what is this?

@purplecow827 wrote:1.5GB really isn't that much data. Or do you really think so?

I can put 2GB of data on my thumb drive in a minute. From another perspective, on my 50Gbit cable line, it takes me 4 minutes to download 1.5GB of data.

Your average AT&T iPhone users don't know the potential of this device. And I think that it is good that they don't know how to utilize their phone to keep the bandwidth free for us so called "heavy users."

And even if I were to use over 2GB of data, I'm paying $30 for my unlimted compared to someone who pays $25 for 2GB of data.

And lastly, AT&T won't throttle your speed if you are a tiered customer so that when they max out, they can charge extra and make more money for themselves. This is discrimination and corporate greed.

What AT&T should be doing is to increase their capacity and stop penalizing people for using up service that the way we customers see fit.

Of course it is reasonable that people who have one of the tiered accounts don't get throttled. When they use large quantities of data, they pay more. Those of us with grandfathered unlimited accounts don't. Throttling someone who has historically used 6GB of data per month on an unlimited account once they hit 1.5 GB of data in a week doesn't sound particularly unreasonable to me.

I'm curious how you think carriers pay for increasing their capacity. I'll give you a hint: It has something to do with increasing revenue when demand increases.

Re: I just got a text from AT&T what is this?

I just got one of these also and I'm only at 2 gigs this month on my UN-LIMITED data plan. How can I be one of the top 5% of data users when at&t's standard limited data plans start at 2 gigs? Very upsetting, Maybe time to look for a new carrier.

Re: I just got a text from AT&T what is this?

Upwards of 3GB a month on a consistent basis will likely land you on AT&T's "5% List". Regarding those other scenarios, are you talking about using data on your phone or tethering your phone to another device? Why is it AT&T's concern if your home broadband goes out, or if you don't want to pay hotel wifi? AT&T's data plans aren't meant to be substitutes for wireline Internet services, and unlimited iPhone data plan users are NEVER allowed to tether their device under that plan.

Well, I see "unlimited" has a new Orwellian definition. I don't think 3.3 GB should come anywhere near surpassing "unlimited."

I've kept the unlimited plan at $30/month even though I have never come close to 2GB in any month. They seem to be fine with me paying an extra $5/month -- until I need it. This business of "you're in the top 5%" is unsavory at best.

Suppose my broadband service goes out for a week (it has happened)? Suppose I'm traveling and don't want to pay the high rates for hotel wi-fi? Suppose I go and stay with my aunt who has no wi-fi at all?

Re: I just got a text from AT&T what is this?

When I had initially heard the message a few months ago that AT&T was going to begin throttling the top 5% of its data users, I had thought it would only be a small handful of people. Wow, was I underestimated...

Re: I just got a text from AT&T what is this?

I just got one of these also and I'm only at 2 gigs this month on my UN-LIMITED data plan. How can I be one of the top 5% of data users when at&t's standard limited data plans start at 2 gigs? Very upsetting, Maybe time to look for a new carrier.